Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Advice April 15

Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Advice April 15

The Studs

Russell Westbrook, PG ($12,000)

We all know the situation here and there are two scenarios the Thunder hope goes well in their favor. One is the Spurs beating the Pelicans (out of their control) and OKC winning over the Wolves. The latter is the one they can lay their hands on.

Expect Russell Westbrook to go all demon mode on the undermanned Timberwolves like he was in 38 minutes of work against Portland. The UCLA product flirted with another triple-double (36-11-7) after another vintage performance against the Pacers (54-9-8).

I’m guessing he’ll go for 60 tonight. Or is it 70?

Anthony Davis, PF ($11,000)

Davis’ Pelicans has this one game to decide their playoff fate. He has been doing a yeoman’s job in the past two games and there is no reason to step on the brakes now that their season is literally hanging on the balance. Whatever New Orleans does, be it in the up or the downside, Anthony Davis is in the front and back in all of those.

Tomorrow, he’ll be the PF version of Russell Westbrook so that makes him a must-own as the Pelicans is one of a handful of teams that is still playing meaningful games (or game).

The Middle Prices

Deron Williams, PG ($6,900)

Speaking of meaningful games, Brooklyn is one of those that still play for something. The Nets is a game behind the Indiana Pacers in a tight race for the final playoff slot in the East and should they win tonight and the Pacers lose in Memphis, they’ll represent the whole state of New York as the eighth seed against No. 1 Atlanta.

If Brooklyn is hoping for a win, Deron Williams better play his best because if not, they have to plan their vacation two weeks early. Not that it’s bad, but you’d rather have two weeks of postseason TV time than watching all the excitement from the Maldives or the Bahamas.

Kawhi Leonard, SF ($8,400)

The Spurs are safely into the next round but the struggle isn’t finished yet. The Clippers, Rockets, and San Antonio can all end up in a triple-tie for the second seed but the Spurs own the first tie-breakers in against. But then again, they have to win their assignment against New Orleans first.

With that in mind, it’s reasonable to conclude Pop will have to unleash Kawhi Leonard no holds barred all over the Pelicans for them to win. The 2014 Finals MVP has four games of at least 40 FP each in the past ten (all wins) with only a couple of relatively bad outings. I’m anticipating a strong game from Leonard on this one, especially if he plays north of 30 minutes.

Dwight Howard, C ($6,600)

If the Rockets want to improve on their current 5th seed standing, they’ll have to get past Utah first. To get past Utah, they’ll need D12 in the middle. Simple as that. He has dropped at least 33.25 FP in the past four in limited minutes and if somehow he gets near 30 minutes, he’ll get you a double-double plus a couple of blocks along the way.

The Bargains

CJ Miles, SF ($5,700)

Every Pacer at this point is worth a roster spot and one that has stepped up his game lately is CJ Miles. The lefty shooter somehow turned into a scorer rather quickly scoring at least 24 points in the past three games. That translated into 34.75 fantasy points against Detroit, 53.5 against OKC, and another, solid 38-FP outing versus Washington.

Grab him while he’s hot!

Aaron Gordon, PF ($3,400)

Orlando ain’t playing for nothing right now but those young legs are raring to play! Gordon has seen at last 22 minutes for the past 5 games and topped for 32 against Miami. The beauty of Gordon’s game is even though he may struggle offensively (5 points on 2 of 14 shooting), his activity on defense and around the basket (six rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two assists) still makes him a very intriguing choice as a cheap option to round out your line-up.

Mike Muscala/ Meyers Leonard, C

Hawk’s Muscala (not pictured) and Blazers’ Leonard were thrust into playing major minutes by default. The Hawks are missing Paul Millsap, Pero Antic (center), and Mike Scott and Portland is resting LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Kaman for the playoffs.

Any of the two guys will play hard given the fact that this might be the only time they’ll be playing this much minutes. By the time the playoffs roll around, they will likely fade into the background or simply get garbage minutes during blowouts.

Note: All stats and salaries are from DraftKings and is accurate as of April 15, 2015.